Children of the Atom: Prologue
Gerard/Alex Gerard With his head cocked to the right, Gerard continued down the abandoned highway. He and Alex had been running from mutated centaurs for a few days now, but he seemed unusually restless today. That's the second attack this week, he thought to himself. Aberron, as Alex had named him, was a manic centaur who was subjected to intense atomic radiation. As a result, he lost most of his cognitive ability, but retained his survival instincts. Aberron did not speak, but bellowed and grunted in a wild fashion. He usually belted a massive greatsword, but was shattered by Dakry's ''massive power. Alex was a master of his spear, but was often overpowered by Aberron's brute strength. Gerard muttered a curse in Greek, for a huge gap existed between him and the other side of the highway. It was probably ten feet wide, and it would kill Gerard instantly if he tried to jump it and fail. Alex was far behind, trying to hunt something for them to eat. An occasional deer that wasn't too mutated would come by, but these days all he would find bloodthirsty deerstalkers that could rip him to pieces. Gerard decided to wait for Alex to catch up, and managed to set up a fire by a bunch of ruined cars by the side. After an hour or so, Gerard heard the sound of footsteps, and saw Alex running towards him, hauling a carcass of a deer. "Hah!" he shouted to Gerard while panting. "I told you I could get one!" Gerard gave a faint smile. "I didn't say you couldn't. How did you get it?" "I lured it with ''Dakry's ''energy pulse.It came running towards me, and all I had to do was administer a short spear throw. Quite awesome, if you ask me." "Any sign of Aberron?" "Nah. I managed to shake him while we were running through a parking lot. Remember?" Gerard's head started to ache as he tried to recall what happened. Alex told him that Aberron managed to fling him twenty feet, slamming him into a pile of cars. Alex tried to heal the wound with the best of his ability, but he was no healer. On normal circumstances, they could procure some ambrosia or nectar, but they were living in a desolate wasteland devoid of life. ''They were alone, or so they thought. Alex "Blast! We'll never get across this gap now!" Alex said in a untertone as he realized his attempts were futile. The gaping hole was too large for them to even attempt and jump it. And neither of them would want to spend the rest of their lives as puddles of flesh and bone. "We have to stay calm." Gerard tried to reassure Alex. "We'll just go around it." "We can't tarry any more! We have to reach New York by the end of the week, or we're toast." It was always their plan to try and get into Olympus and try to contact the gods, but they were seperated from Layla and the others. It all happened when they tried to get past mutated venti. They erupted in a torrent of wind and water, blasting all of them miles apart. The others managed to set up a defensive enchantment, but Alex and Gerard were no spellcaster. The only thing that saved them was Alex's Dodecahedron, which mysteriously opened up into an invisible cushion that saved them at the last moment. Alex wondered if it was actually the Fates who brought him to the pendant. On the rare occasion it would hiss and rattle, but would die down in a moment. This was becoming more frequent and troubled Alex. "Oh gods, were doomed." Gerard said grimly. "If only Evan were here. He would know how to get us across." Alex flinched at the mention of his name, but realized that Gerard was right. They had no way to get across. "Hey, I've got an idea." Gerard said to Alex while walking to a heap of cars. "Give me a hand, will you?" Alex helped Gerard lift a broken Cadillac pick-up with the help of Dakry. Gerard wondered where Alex got his spear. It had saved them on countless occasions, but Gerard got a weird feeling of unease when he saw Alex channel its energy like that. But then again, his weapon was no less strange. As the pick-up slammed into the concrete, Alex tried to gain his breath. Gerard walked over to where the pick-up was and saw a small red Mini-Coop which was seemingly unscathed. Thanks, Hypnos. If you're even there. ''Gerard muttered to himself as he tried to get the door open. "Hey, do you have something for fire?" Alex asked to Gerard. "I'm getting hungry." Gerard Gerard pointed Alex towards his grey rucksack a few feet away. Before the fallout fell, he managed to shove everything into it before he blacked out. When he had awoken, there was a rain of ash and debris, with no sign of Alice. The mere thought of Alice made Gerard feel sad. She had dissapeared right after he blacked out, and he had been trying to look for her ever since. While walking through an abandoned warehouse, he met Alex and Esther fighting off Aberron. They had managed to keep him at bay, but Gerard knew that Aberron's endurance would outlast either of them. Gerard quickly sprung into action, swinging wildly with Deathbringer. Aberron was shaken, but not defeated. It had taken all three of their strength to send him flying into a pit of debris, but afterwards they felt extremely exhausted. They continued down Boston until they found James trying to grow a garden of strawberries. Being a son of Ceres, he felt sad for the condition of the Earth, and desperately tried to grow vegetation. He provided the weary travelers with food and drink, and soon joined them in their journey. Once they reached a graveyard of aircraft, they met Josh and Layla fighting off a swarm of radioactive harpies. In a few weeks, Gerard had found a handful of demigods that survived the fallout. Josh, taking up his place of the leader, decided that they needed to get to Manhattan. "We're going to need a name, you know." Layla said to Josh one evening. "I have one." Josh replied. "We are the remnants of the gods, the survivors of the aftermath. We are... the ''Children of the Atom..." Category:Children of the Atom Category:Chapter Page